Cruising in Toyota pickups belonging to the
"Department of the Promotion of Virtue and the
Prevention of Vice," members of the Taliban recently
shut down various educational programs, announcing
this closure only by arresting, beating, and harshly
treating the teachers running the courses. Interviews
with these teachers revealed two central causes for
this obscurantism:

1. Established and run by a husband and wife, both
past teachers, a school for girls grades one through
twelve had been operating in phase three of Khair
Khana for more than a year. The school was officially
registered with the Ministry of Education, which paid
the monthly rent. Problems occurred, however, when
one girl was repeatedly accosted by a number of
gangsters on her way to and from school. The
harassment was so troubling that the girl's family
finally removed her from the school. After several
days, the headmaster and an associate sent messages to
the absent girl, pleading that she ignore her family
and continue her education. Convinced, the girl took
the headmaster's advice, only to be abducted by the
rakes upon her first trip to school. Feeling a sense
of machination behind the teacher's note and the
girls' disappearance, her family complained to the
security post. Taliban, searching for an excuse to
prevent the education of young women, rushed to close
the school, severely beating the teachers. Despite
proof that the girls' disappearance was the doing of
the errant boys and was in no way connected to the
innocent teachers, the Department has assaulted
hundreds of these courses in various areas of Kabul,
claiming to investigate the legitimacy of the schools.

2. The Taliban received reports that teachers of some
of the unofficial home-based courses, especially those
teaching English, had been educating them about
Christianity, encouraging students to turn away from
Islam.

As these examples prove, the Taliban will work under
any pretext in order to snatch the last breath of so
many individual's lives, by persecuting, degrading,
and insulting women. However, it is worth noting that
the Department has not been successful in uprooting
all of the home-based schools. While the fearful
atmosphere created by the Taliban has caused courses
to become more limited and has decreased the number of
students to some extent, many of these schools are
still teaching young Afghani's through whatever covert
means necessary. Many girls in junior and senior
classes have learned to conceal their books on their
way to and from classes and are able to divert a
Talib's attention by hiding their school things under
their burqas. Except for a very few anomalies, the
Taliban has been unable to completely suppress this
valuable education.

Najia and Rana, teachers of one course located at
Khair Khana, were imprisoned for several days and
faced excruciating torture.

It is absolutely vital that women resist this
degradation. Though financial problems plague the
courses, the most prevalent concern is that women have
no intention of surrendering to the oppression and
brutality of the Taliban. For instance, in one of the
evening courses at Khair Khana, a teacher not wearing
her burqua was before a room full of students, when
Taliban, belonging to the "Department of the Promotion
of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" suddenly attacked
them. Crying and shouting, the students immediately
escaped by jumping through the windows, while their
teacher remained in the classroom with the Taliban.
The thugs proceeded in their rude and abusive
language, demanding to know why she was not wearing a
burqua. She replied: "I was with my girl-students
in a classroom and I felt no compulsion to wear a
burqua. You should have observed hejab and entered
the room a bit more politely."

Despite the woman's bravery and courage, Taliban
insulted the woman, trying to force her to close her
course. But she replied fearlessly: "I am a woman and
a mother of four. Who will feed my children? You
want to make all women into beggars or prostitutes!
But I am a teacher and I refuse to give in; I will
never be a prostitute nor a beggar! If you tried one
hundred times to close my course, I would reopen it
every time. I need this course, for I am feeding my
children with it!" Having no reasons to remain there,
the Taliban left the place embarrassed.

The women taken by the Taliban are still missing.
Despite investigations by the Supervising Department
of Women, Intelligence Services, and the Parliament of
Kabul, no signs of the female teachers have been
uncovered.

Sick women and the stick

On the evening of May 16th, Nadra, a very sick young
woman waited at the corner of a pharmacy for her
medication, ampoule, and boiling water to be prepared.
Meanwhile, two men from the "Department of the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" who had
been scrutinizing Nadra at length entered the
pharmacy. After injecting the medication, the woman
rubbed her thigh, waiting to cover it. Without any
question, the thugs of the Department attacked the
innocent lady, claiming that she was guilty of
adultery. After beating the doctor, the Taliban took
both of the innocents away. The poor woman insisted
that she was absolutely sinless, but the Taliban
ignored her and took her to the Department where she
was promptly imprisoned.

Dost Muhammad, the owner of the Shafa medical store
said: "These wicked brutes disgraced an innocent woman
and defamed our doctor without any reason. I am
totally bewildered and do not even know who to call
for help!"